SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Tacere Therapeutics, Inc., an RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics developer, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer Inc. to develop and commercialize its Hepatitis C virus (HCV) compound, TT-033. The collaboration will focus on completing all necessary studies for submission of an investigational new drug application (IND), as well as clinical development and commercialization of TT-033.

"We are very pleased about forming a collaborative relationship with Pfizer, and are excited about being first in the industry to partner an expressed RNAi drug," said Sara M. Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Tacere. "We have made excellent progress in the research and preclinical development of TT-033, and are very happy to be joined by Pfizer at an important time in the program's development. Pfizer recognizes the potential of this first-in- class approach to provide a novel treatment option for HCV patients and we look forward to working with the team at Pfizer to advance TT-033."

Mike Catelani, Chairman, President and CFO of Tacere, stated, "We look forward to combining Pfizer's and Tacere's complementary capabilities to take TT-033 into the clinic. We are pleased that Pfizer has chosen to work with us in developing this potential single administration RNAi drug to aid in the fight against the global healthcare crisis of HCV."

Under the terms of the agreement, Tacere and Pfizer will form a joint steering committee to oversee preclinical research and development efforts for TT-033. Pfizer will fund all aspects of the collaboration, including the preclinical development work and will have exclusive worldwide rights, excluding all Asian countries, to commercialize products that result from the collaboration.

During the initial phase of the collaboration, Pfizer will provide Tacere with funding in order to complete the necessary IND-enabling studies for TT-033. In addition, Tacere will be eligible to receive milestone payments through successful achievement of development, approval, and commercialization milestones resulting in total potential payments to Tacere of over $145 million. Upon commercialization of TT-033 Tacere would be entitled to receive royalties on net sales by Pfizer.

About TT-033

TT-033 is a novel therapeutic product containing three separate RNAi elements targeted against the Hepatitis C virus itself and entrapped in an AAV protein coat. AAV delivery methods have demonstrated clinical safety, and preclinical studies with TT-033 have shown the ability to penetrate hepatocytes (the site of HCV replication) at high levels following a single intravenous administration. In preclinical animal studies, this "cocktail in one drug" monotherapy targeted and cleaved the Hepatitis C virus itself at three different sites simultaneously without toxicity.

About Tacere Therapeutics, Inc.

Tacere is an innovative biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics to treat serious infectious diseases using its proprietary knowledge in the development of RNAi therapeutics. Tacere is located in San Jose, California, USA and obtained its founding capital from Hokkaido Venture Capital of Sapporo, Japan. Its lead therapeutic compound is TT-033, an RNAi drug for the treatment of Hepatitis C. For additional information, please visit www.tacerebio.com.